Several sources in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, confirmed that members of a Sudanese refugee family died on Wednesday evening after suffering carbon-monoxide poisoning inside their home. They had been using a charcoal heater, a tragedy that once again highlights the dangers of traditional heating methods used by refugees during winter, according to media.
Details of the incident
A formal report issued by the Badr Police Station in Tripoli, signed by station chief Hamza Mohammed Akash and sent to the Sudanese Embassy, stated that seven members of one family had died. Among them were the father, Mutaz Babiker Bella Suleiman, aged 47, and his children: Sanhouri, 7, Abubakr, 5, Abdulrahman, 6, and Abeer, aged 2. The police said they took immediate measures upon receiving the alert, transferring the bodies to Dar Al-Rahma at Tiji Hospital to complete the legal and medical procedures required for burial.
Warnings from the community
Ahmed Mohamed Khalid, a representative of the Sudanese community in Libya, said the rise in fatal incidents linked to suffocation is due to poor awareness of heating-device safety and limited knowledge of proper ventilation. Many refugees struggle to cope with the cold, damp winter climate, which leads them to use charcoal heaters without following safety instructions. He urged Sudanese residents not to leave heaters, especially charcoal-based ones, burning while they sleep, recommending blankets as a safer alternative for now.
In early January this year, five members of a Sudanese family died in Benghazi’s Sidi Khalifa area in similar circumstances. The parents and a young child survived after being overcome by smoke from a charcoal heater used in a tightly closed room while temperatures dropped below ten degrees Celsius. Local health authorities in Ajdabiya also reported in December the discovery of five Sudanese family members who died of suffocation after using an electric heater in a sealed room with no ventilation.
Refugee numbers
According to the latest figures issued by the UN refugee agency in September, Libya hosts around 357,000 Sudanese refugees. Of these, roughly 193,000 live in Kufra near the Sudanese border, 80,000 are in Tripoli, and 10,000 in Benghazi. Misrata hosts over 7,248 Sudanese refugees, Zawiya 6,190, and Al-Jafara 20,443. In eastern Libya, Derna hosts 5,642, Tobruk 5,768, and the Green Mountain region 3,822. These numbers reflect the scale of Sudanese displacement in Libya and the difficult humanitarian conditions they face.
